Uisge Beatha Whisky prices compared

Independent bottlings

An independent bottling is released by a company that buys casks from a distillery and bottles them under its own label. The bottlers covered here include Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory Vintage and Douglas Laing. For teaspooning contracts, undisclosed distillery names and why IBs bottle at higher specifications, see our guide to independent whisky bottlers.

Releases are usually one cask or a small batch, so stock changes and many tracked bottlings have no current offer. Loch Fyne Whiskies’ own bottlings are sold mainly by Loch Fyne. Independent-bottler tags are inferred from the bottler named in our catalogue, rather than treated as label claims.

Prices shown are current in-stock offers from the UK retailers we check, with the retailer, check time and delivery status.

615 bottles in stock, with the best current price from the UK retailers we check.

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Questions

What is the cheapest independent bottling?
The cheapest independent bottling is Adelphi Private Stock Blended Scotch Whisky (70cl), at £24.95 from Hard To Find Whisky. That is £30.90 delivered to the UK mainland for one bottle. Next cheapest: Black Bull Kyloe Peated (Duncan Taylor) Blended Whisky (£27.00) and Benrinnes Murray McDavid Cask Craft - Madeira Finish Single Whisky (£32.95).
How much do independent bottlings cost?
Independent bottlings cost from £24.95 to £5,300.00, with a median of £99.95 for a full-size bottle. The dearest is The Last Drop Glenrothes 1968 Cask 13508 Limited Edition Single Cask Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl.
What is the oldest independent bottling you can buy?
Carsebridge (silent) Living Souls Single Grain Scotch 50 year old Whisky, at 50 years old, from £271.50.
What is an independent bottler?
A company that buys casks from distilleries and bottles the whisky under its own label, usually naming the distillery as well. Most of its releases are single casks, often bottled at cask strength without colouring or chill filtration.
How long have independent bottlers existed?
For well over a century. Cadenhead’s, founded in Aberdeen in 1842, is probably the oldest independent bottler, and Gordon & MacPhail opened in Elgin in 1895. In the 1960s, when few distilleries sold their own single malts, Cadenhead’s and Gordon & MacPhail produced almost all independent bottlings.
Why do some independent bottlings hide the distillery name?
Some distilleries don’t want their name on bottlings they don’t control. The whisky is then teaspooned or given a disguised name, such as Murray McDavid’s Leapfrog (Laphroaig), and undisclosed single malts are nicknamed “bastard malts”. The Scotch Whisky Regulations also stop a distillery’s name being used as a brand name unless the whisky was wholly distilled there.
Do independent bottlers own distilleries?
Some do, partly to secure supply as casks became harder to buy. Gordon & MacPhail bought Benromach in 1993, Signatory’s Andrew Symington bought Edradour in 2002, and Hunter Laing began distilling at Ardnahoe on Islay in 2018.
Who are the main independent bottlers?
Long-established names include Gordon & MacPhail, founded in Elgin in 1895; Signatory Vintage, founded in Edinburgh in 1988 and now based in Pitlochry; and Douglas Laing, founded in Glasgow in 1948. Hunter Laing was founded in 2013. Some bottlers also own distilleries: Gordon & MacPhail owns Benromach and Signatory Vintage owns Edradour.